Best Albums of 1966

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1.

Revolver 

 The Beatles

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"This is my pick for the best ever album. Everything you'd want in an album is here: The perfect ballads ("Here, There And Everywhere" and "For No One"), the perfect rockers ("Taxman", "She Said She Said" and "And Your Bird Can Sing"), brilliant psychedelia ("I'm Only Sleeping", "She Said She Said...""This is my pick for the best ever album. Everything you'd want in an album is here: The perfect ballads ("Here, There And Everywhere" and "For No One"), the perfect rockers ("Taxman", "She Said She Said" and "And Your Bird Can Sing"), brilliant psychedelia ("I'm Only Sleeping", "She Said She Said" (again) and "Tomorrow Never Knows") and even a pinch of world music ("Love You To"). It's got a it's fair share of serious tracks ("Eleanor Rigby" and "For No One") and it's fair share of fun tracks to counter the serious tracks ("Yellow Submarine", "Good Day Sunshine" and "Got To Get You Into My Life"). The album shows the Beatles at their creative peak, constantly trying to find new things never done in pop and rock. New production tricks and new genres, styles and instruments to blend in to popular music. The album also shows every single Beatle at their best, before the feuding began and slowly tore to group apart. The album changed popular music forever, and is one of the most groundbreaking albums of all time. That's why I think it's the greatest album ever. Oh, and it's also got the coolest fucking album cover ever."  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

3,604 charts

Rank Score:

48,209

Rank in 1966:

1

Rank in 1960s:

2

Overall Rank:

4

Average Rating:

 91 (4,613 votes)

Comments:

486

2.

Pet Sounds 

 The Beach Boys

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"What can I say about "Pet Sounds"? This album is just so ridiculously out-of-this-world. Especially considering where music was at in 1966, it is very hard to believe that a guy could create this music almost single handedly. Composition and production-wise, this album is a complete masterpiece a...""What can I say about "Pet Sounds"? This album is just so ridiculously out-of-this-world. Especially considering where music was at in 1966, it is very hard to believe that a guy could create this music almost single handedly. Composition and production-wise, this album is a complete masterpiece and showcases the genius of Brian Wilson like never before, or after. I think the Beatles were a better band than the Beach Boys, but for me, "Pet Sounds" is better than any Beatle album. There is absolutely no flaws in it and, in my perception, it is the very first album that really felt like an album. "Rubber Soul" was close, then "Pet Sounds" was it. And the rest is history."  [+]  Reply

- bonnequestion | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

2,864 charts

Rank Score:

37,674

Rank in 1966:

2

Rank in 1960s:

5

Overall Rank:

12

Average Rating:

 88 (3,305 votes)

Comments:

361

3.

Blonde On Blonde 

 Bob Dylan

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"The way I feel about this album is best represented by the scene in High Fidelity in which Jack Black's character, Barry, describes not owning it as "perverse." That about sums it up. Song for song, this is finest folk rock album ever made. "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is probably the highligh...""The way I feel about this album is best represented by the scene in High Fidelity in which Jack Black's character, Barry, describes not owning it as "perverse." That about sums it up. Song for song, this is finest folk rock album ever made. "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is probably the highlight for me, but there's not a weak track here."  [+]  Reply

- buzzdainer | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

2,050 charts

Rank Score:

24,449

Rank in 1966:

3

Rank in 1960s:

11

Overall Rank:

32

Average Rating:

 88 (2,420 votes)

Comments:

175

4.

Aftermath 

 The Rolling Stones

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"My rating and comment are for the US version. It's a nice showcase for Jagger and Richards as songwriters. It starts incredibly strong with Paint it Black....and all-time great song. Stupid Girl is one of my favourite lesser known Stones songs and Lady Jane and Under My Thumb are great as well. H...""My rating and comment are for the US version. It's a nice showcase for Jagger and Richards as songwriters. It starts incredibly strong with Paint it Black....and all-time great song. Stupid Girl is one of my favourite lesser known Stones songs and Lady Jane and Under My Thumb are great as well. However...I'm Going Home is just interminable and makes the whole thing wear a bit thin by the end."  [+]  Reply

- Decurso | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

686 charts

Rank Score:

4,325

Rank in 1966:

4

Rank in 1960s:

52

Overall Rank:

385

Average Rating:

 78 (972 votes)

Comments:

75

5.

Sounds Of Silence 

 Simon & Garfunkel

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"A good Simon & Garfunkel album, though not as good as their later music. Some of this stuff drags a bit, but even the songs that drag are usually pretty."  Reply

- clockworkfiction3 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

633 charts

Rank Score:

4,218

Rank in 1966:

5

Rank in 1960s:

55

Overall Rank:

395

Average Rating:

 80 (753 votes)

Comments:

31

6.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme 

 Simon & Garfunkel

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"Their best album. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. On this one Simon has finally reached his peak as an arranger and composer (maybe not as a lyricist, but not a big problem) and Garfunkel and him sing these songs with pastoral youthful emotion. There's an emotional arc to almost every song, and the...""Their best album. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. On this one Simon has finally reached his peak as an arranger and composer (maybe not as a lyricist, but not a big problem) and Garfunkel and him sing these songs with pastoral youthful emotion. There's an emotional arc to almost every song, and the instrumental pallete is always mysterious but soothing. "Homeward Bound" and "The 59th Street Bridge Song" are pop at its purest and most charming level. Must listen."  [+]  Reply

- Lacobra | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

584 charts

Rank Score:

3,440

Rank in 1966:

6

Rank in 1960s:

65

Overall Rank:

497

Average Rating:

 80 (659 votes)

Comments:

42

7.

Freak Out! 

 The Mothers Of Invention

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"This is a brilliant commentary on society in the 60's that is still extremely relevant to this day with the consumerism we have present in modern society. It is also a genius parody of the music in the 60's but also a demonstration of how it could be made to a higher musical quality if artists st...""This is a brilliant commentary on society in the 60's that is still extremely relevant to this day with the consumerism we have present in modern society. It is also a genius parody of the music in the 60's but also a demonstration of how it could be made to a higher musical quality if artists strived towards making better sounds rather than just catchy songs that get people hooked on so they would sell. This satire from Zappa is best demonstrated on songs like Wowie Zowie, Anyway The Wind Blows and Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder. Zappa then goes completely against what people wanted and made creative sound collages which utilised his raw sound and formed some songs that on first listen are not enjoyable for us to hear at all. However, through the use of his orchestral arrangements and instrumental diversity the quality and depth of the sound shines through after a few listens as you start to see how complex and rich his sound is. You start to appreciate the musicianship on show and admire how self aware and intellectual the release is. The lyrics the whole way through are fantastic as well and I can see why they might not appeal to some people but for me they work perfectly and I love the commentary Zappa gives. Also, I would like to give a special mention to the protest song Trouble Every Day which is a personal highlight for me. Overall, this is a genius record that has something to say that is still relevant to this very day and does it in a musically rich and grand fashion and I think this record deserves more recognition and praise than it gets. "  [+]  Reply

- Untitled | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

584 charts

Rank Score:

3,397

Rank in 1966:

7

Rank in 1960s:

67

Overall Rank:

507

Average Rating:

 80 (741 votes)

Comments:

44

8.

Wild Is The Wind 

 Nina Simone

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"What I find remarkable is how she was able to put so much passion into everything she did. I recommend listening to "Four Women" and "What More Can I Say?" Amazing."  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

288 charts

Rank Score:

2,335

Rank in 1966:

8

Rank in 1960s:

85

Overall Rank:

737

Average Rating:

 80 (267 votes)

Comments:

12

9.

Face To Face 

 The Kinks

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"One of the best albums of all time, the quality of the songs is just sublime... so far ahead of most 1966 albums. The Kinks actually had something to say here unlike 99% of their peers. Middle class life in England and the gap between rich and poor (A House In The Country, Sunny Afternoon), runni...""One of the best albums of all time, the quality of the songs is just sublime... so far ahead of most 1966 albums. The Kinks actually had something to say here unlike 99% of their peers. Middle class life in England and the gap between rich and poor (A House In The Country, Sunny Afternoon), running away from home (Rosie Wont You Please Come Home), the opener song from this album deals with anonymity (Party Line) which is well ahead of its time. Look at where we are now, nobody knows you on the internet, just like the lyrics of Party Line predicted. "Is she big, is she small, is she a she at all" (preceding Lola, their biggest hit, a song about a transexual). The two songs Dandy and Fancy are about polygamy (Fancy: the music playing being an imitation of indian music - a novelty at the time, music and lyrics are from connected from that stand point, Dandy is a music hall style song of 2 minutes about Dave Davies and "that 2 girls are too many, 3 is a crowd and 4 you're dead"). The songs are connected through a certain theme, that being society in England and how it actually is, instead of what Ray Davies projects a fantasy of England (see: Village Green Preservation Society). Holiday In Waikiki is about winning a ticket to Hawaii, thus temporarily escaping the mundane middle class life and enjoying one self), Most Exclusive Residence For Sale is about the same guy who had a "House In The Country" who now loses his private property and has to pay off a mortgage (big problem in the 50s and 60s and after for that social class, the protagonist now being part of the middle class) You don't have to read so much into the lyrics as all of this is really obvious. Too Much On My Mind is about a mental breakdown that Ray Davies had earlier in 1966 (kind of reminds me of the many personal songs he wrote around that time, see: Two Sisters from another great album, Something Else). I'll Remember and You're Looking Fine don't really fit in all that much like the 12 masterpieces on this album but they are alright, just average rock songs from 1966, nothing special, not too bad either, I certainly prefer them to a lot of songs featured in the album before this. Rainy Day In June is a very atmospheric, unqiue song, using sound effects in a way not many other rock / pop bands did before (The Beatles and the Beach Boys did use sound effects too, the Kinks used them for multiple songs on the same album: Party Line, Holiday In Waikiki, Rainy Day In June. They also used effects for a single like the Beatles and Beach Boys did, Yellow Submarine, Caroline No, that Kinks single being Big Black Smoke) All in all, I think Face To Face deserves to be so highly rated, being around the 890s in the overall ranking. Personally, I think it should be at least in the top 3 of 1966, but 8th place in 1966 isn't that bad. Evidently, more than enough people know about it, the instrumentation might be the reason why it's not as highly ranked in the Kinks discography like Arthur, Lola vs Powerman or even Something Else. All these albums have in common that the instrument playing is more enjoyable to the average listener and while Face To Face has good riffs and great basslines, the band who made it added more instruments for the following four albums and made the songs a bit deeper (not in a lyrical sense). In a way, Face To Face was the last garage rock album but at the same time the first operetta type concept album the Kinks did. "  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

425 charts

Rank Score:

2,087

Rank in 1966:

9

Rank in 1960s:

91

Overall Rank:

823

Average Rating:

 80 (505 votes)

Comments:

28

10.

The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators 

 13th Floor Elevators

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"Raw, edgy garage with a queasy, malevolent psychedelic gleam. A glorious atmosphere and great, robust songs throughout. I personally love the electric jug, but I see it's not to everyone's taste! A crucial record for more reasons than just being the first to have the word "Psychedelic" in the tit...""Raw, edgy garage with a queasy, malevolent psychedelic gleam. A glorious atmosphere and great, robust songs throughout. I personally love the electric jug, but I see it's not to everyone's taste! A crucial record for more reasons than just being the first to have the word "Psychedelic" in the title. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys 60s "garage" and the more provocative underground limb of early psychedelic rock."  [+]  Reply

- RhymeDragWiDrag | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

429 charts

Rank Score:

1,987

Rank in 1966:

10

Rank in 1960s:

95

Overall Rank:

862

Average Rating:

 78 (501 votes)

Comments:

23

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Total albums: 732. Page 1 of 74

Best Albums of 1966 composition

Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra	4	1%
Various Artists	4	1%
Frank Sinatra	4	1%
Ennio Morricone	4	1%
Wes Montgomery	4	1%
Buck Owens And His Buckaroos	4	1%
Hugh Masekela	4	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	419	57%
	101	14%
	23	3%
	22	3%
	22	3%
	21	3%
	18	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	698	95%
Yes	34	5%

Live?	Albums	%
No	703	96%
Yes	29	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	718	98%
Yes	14	2%